Pacific FC were defeated by the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 at Starlight Stadium on Wednesday night, concluding their Canadian Championship journey, and sending the Whitecaps to the final. The second meeting between the two teams was well sought for with great anticipation and a packed Starlight Stadium. Both teams faced off against each other on August 26, 2021, where Pacific powered through upsetting the MLS favorites 4-3. This time, It was all on Vancouver to defend their 2022 Canadian Championship.
The nearly sold-out Starlight Stadium was treated to a hot start from the home side as Pacific was quick to pressure into the Vancouver zone. However, it would come up costly as Vancouver capitalized on the counterattack opening the scoring in the 14th minute as Julian Gressel pocketed the ball into the corner to open the scoring 1-0 for the Whitecaps. Three minutes later Vancouver found success once again this time coming from Ali Ahmed who made no problem finishing and putting the Whitecaps up 2-0.
Unfortunately, the game took a turn after a Pacific clearance via the slide tackle that sent Whitecaps’ Ali Ahmed down awkwardly and remained down for up to 17 minutes. It would prove to be a serious injury that required the utmost care. Eventually, he was able to be stretchered off and loaded into an ambulance, that made its way to the hospital. There has been no announcement from the Whitecaps organization about what the injury is at this given time.
A whopping 17 minutes were added to the clock at the end of the half. Seventeen minutes that would see Pacific pushing so near to a goal only to be denied by the crossbar after a header from Daniels. The half concluded with Vancouver on top 2-0 heading into the break concerned for their injured teammate.
The second opened with Pacific knowing what they needed to do. There was a flurry of opportunities for Pacific that were all thwarted away by the Whitecaps’ defense. Vancouver was able to tally one last goal in the 78th minute after a shot by Simon Becher that fluttered past Pacific’s Emil Gazdov to seal the game for the Caps.
The lifetime series between the two teams are now split as Vancouver moves on to take on Montreal on June 6th at BC Place for the Voyageurs Cup.
Pacific on the other hand will shift their focus back to the regular season and prepare for their match against Halifax at Starlight Stadium on Saturday, May 27th at 7:00 pm.
